Heavy Snow — Lower Bucks, Pennsylvania
2014-01-02 to 2014-01-03 · Lower Bucks, Pennsylvania
Wider weather episode
A winter storm dropped 5 to 9 inches of snow across Eastern Pennsylvania from the middle of afternoon of the 2nd into the morning of the 3rd. This caused hazardous traveling conditions for the evening commute on the 2nd and the morning commute on the 3rd. Three storm related deaths occurred, all in Bucks County. After one day of classes after the winter break, many schools were closed again on the 3rd.
In Bucks County, just as the snow was starting, a 51-year-old man was crushed to death in Falls Township when a 100 foot tall salt pile toppled and collapsed on him as he was operating a front end loader. An 83-year-old man collapsed and died as he was clearing the snow off his vehicle in Southampton Township. A 70-year-old Langhorne woman was found dead outside. AAA Mid-Atlantic reported over 200 calls for assistance from stuck motorists in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. The heavy snow caused numerous flight cancellations at Philadelphia International Airport and many travelers were stranded at the airport overnight. In addition to school closings, many government offices were closed on the 3rd. Many shopping malls opened late.
The snow started between 3 p.m. EST and 6 p.m. EST on the 2nd. It started first in Berks County and the Poconos and the latest in Montgomery and Bucks Counties. The snow fell at a fairly steady rate with the heaviest rate occurring during the evening hours. The snow ended from west to east between 6 a.m. EST and 10 a.m. EST on the 3rd. It exited lower Bucks County last. Strong northwest winds and the powdery nature of the snow caused blowing and drifting even after it ended on the 3rd.
Representative snowfall totals included 9.0 inches in Bensalem (Bucks County) and the Philadelphia International Airport, 8.7 inches in Newtown Square (Delaware County), 8.0 inches in East Nantmeal (Chester County), 7.5 inches in Lake Harmony (Carbon County) and Wynnewood (Montgomery County), 7.4 inches in King of Prussia (Montgomery County), 7.2 inches at the Lehigh Valley International Airport, Springtown (Bucks County) and Drexel Hill (Delaware County), 7.0 inches in Huffs Church (Berks County), Fox Chase (Philadelphia), Nazareth and Forks Township (Northampton County) and Saylorsburg (Monroe County), 6.3 inches in Martins Creek (Northampton County), 6.2 inches in Wyomissing (Berks County), Gilbertsville (Montgomery County), Palmerton (Carbon County) and Doylestown (Bucks County), 6.0 inches in Slatington (Lehigh County), 5.8 inches in Pocono Summit (Monroe County) and 5.5 inches in Honey Brook (Chester County).
The winter storm was caused by a rapidly intensifying low pressure system. The low was moving through the Ohio River Valley on the morning of the 2nd. Meanwhile an arctic high pressure system near Montreal supplied an ample supply of fresh cold air. At 1 p.m. EST that afternoon, the low pressure system reached West Virginia. From there, it reformed farther to the southeast and was over northern North Carolina at 7 p.m. EST that evening and passed east of Elizabeth City, North Carolina around 9 p.m. EST. Once it reached the coast, it started to intensify rapidly as it moved eastnortheast. The low pressure system went from 998 millibars at 10 p.m. EST on the 2nd to 981 millibars located at 40 degrees north latitude and 65 degrees west longitude at 7 a.m. EST on the 3rd.
Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 494841. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.